WELCOME TO ANOTHER EMPIRE PARK REVIEW! It’s crazy to think that five years ago, getting a good skatepark in the province was something we could only dream about. It’s such a good feeling to see that now, there’s a dozen new concrete parks popping in our province every year! Sherbrooke's Fleurimont skatepark is one of them and you absolutely need to go try it if you are in the area!
This park was built in 2017 after the city of Sherbrooke invested more than $100 000 in the project. Even if the place is a few years old, the park is still looking new and modern. Sherbrooke's park isn't that big (500 sq ft.), but is very well thought out, has smart parallel lines and obstacles that will please skaters of all levels.
The park is situated inside Sherbrooke's Parc Desranleau, is easy to access by car or public transportation and is close to a few restaurants and corner stores if you feel hungry or thirsty. The skateboarding scene in Sherbrooke is also very developped and counts a bunch of cool skaters who will always welcome you to their city and skatepark with open arms. Seriously, if you are in the Sherbrooke area, this park definitely deserves a visit.
THE STREET SECTION
Sherbrooke skatepark’s street section is very sick and offers a lot of different options to explore, even if it's pretty small. The park is mostly street oriented and counts all the obstacles you need to have fun and to learn new tricks. The cool thing about small parks like this one is that you won't ever feel confused about what you're going to skate in the park. After a few hours, you will have tried everything and instead of experimenting with other obstacles you didn't hit before, you'll be able to concentrate on progressing on the obstacles that you skated already.
This parks got two major street lines with a bank on one side and a quarter pipe on the other, so you can put together great lines by skating back and forth up and down the course. The north side of the park has a rail, out ledge, small stairs and manual pads while the south section has down and flat hubbas, a perfect flat rail, a great hip, bigger stairs and a small bank. Sherbrooke's latest park's got nothing flashy or useless. The park is small, but well thought out, has great obstacles, the ground is smooth and the obstacles aren’t too big, making it easy to have fun no matter your skill level.
On the north side of the park, you’ll find an elevated section with a cool 2 stairs followed by a down rail and out ledge. Perfect to practice cool lines with a trick down the steps followed by a rail or out ledge trick. The only obstacle that we thought wasn't too skate friendly is actually the down rail and top rail that's on this section of the park. The down part of the rail is so small and low that it is almost scary to jump on and the top rail is way too high for the small bank that's in front of it. That being said, it's great if you never skated a down rail in your life and want to experiment with your first boardslides. The top rail is also doable, but you'll need a lot of pop to make it happen. At the end of the day, we ended up getting used to the rail and had a fun session on it, it just took a bit of adaptation on our end.
THE TRANSITION SECTION
The transition section at Sherbrooke's Parc Desranleau isn't the most developed we've seen in terms of diversity. In fact, the park's got only one quarter pipe, meaning it isn't the greatest one to pick if you like to cruise transitions, blast airs or find fast lines to roll around the park with good speed.
That being said, the only quarter pipe in the park is very sick! According to us, one nice, well built obstacle is better than 2 or more mediocre ones, so at least there's that! The 1/4 pipe covers the whole width of the skatepark on it's west side and has a transition that's a bit steeper than your usual quarter pipe, which makes it way more exciting to skate. Compared to other parks we've seen, the quarter pipe is also a bit higher, making it easier to get some air or to start your street lines with great speed.
THE FLOW
The flow at Fleurimont skatepark is very easy to understand and fun for all types of skaters. The good thing about a simple 2 lines skateparks is that beginner or advanced skaters will be able to concentrate on actual skate tricks on the parks obstacles instead of putting part of their focus on where they are trying to go. The parallel type of lines also makes it easier to not crash into anyone while you shred.
The only bad thing we could say about the parks flow doesn't have anything to do with how it's built, but more on the place's size and how crowded it can get. Like we mentioned earlier, the scene in Sherbrooke is big and when everyone shreds the same small park, it can be difficult to cruise in it freely. The simple and parallel lines help, but an overcrowded small park is never ideal, wherever it is. That being said, the park's also small enough to allow everybody to see other skaters and wait for their turns before they drop in. All in all, the flow isn't bad at all if the park isn't too crowded. If you get there after or before rush hour, we promise you'll have a great session!
SEE YOU GUYS AT THE PARK!